Wizard magazine visited the Spider-Man 2 set in New York and the scenes filmed involved Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker), Rosemary Harris (Aunt May) and a bank. We’re not going to spoil it here for you, so pick up the magazine for more on that! What we will run through is Marvel Studio President Avi Arad’s comments to the magazine about each of the major characters in the sequel. The following includes some spoilers as well…

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire): Peter’s a college boy now, studying all sorts of academic stuff under professors like the esteemed Dr. Curt Connors (more on him later). But he still finds time to snap a few photos for the Daily Bugle. “Peter Parker is dealing with his life without Mary Jane,” says Arad. “He’s a university student now, and he has bigger responsibilities. It’s tough making a living. Peter’s still searching for a way to be both Spider-Man and Peter Parker, and still have some kind of normalcy in his life.”

Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst): The hard work has finally paid off, and MJ has hit the big time as a Broadway star. “Mary Jane is probably the character who’s gone through the most personal growth,” notes Arad. “She’s finally living her dream, and she’s become successful. She’s acting, she’s modeling-she will always love Peter, but she actually has a life.” Part of that life involves new flame John Jameson, son of crabby Daily Bugle chief J. Jonah Jameson.

John Jameson (Daniel Gillies): MJ’s turned her romantic attentions to hunky astronaut and all-around nice guy John Jameson. And the agonizing part? He’s so darn likeable. “When Peter finally meets John, after hearing all the bragging from Mary Jane and his dad, to his great surprise, he likes him,” reveals Arad. “There’s going to be some fun twists and turns, but I don’t want to ruin it for the audience, or Sam will break my legs [Laughs].”

Aunt May (Rosemary Harris): Peter’s beloved Aunt is the only real family he’s got left-and even though she’s got troubles of her own, she’s still a rock for Peter to lean on. “Aunt May is just an amazing lady,” gushes Arad. “She shows incredible strenght in this movie, struggling with loneliness and all the things that happen to widows, from the economic issues to the psychological issues.”

Harry Osborn (James Franco): Peter’s friend plays an enormous role in the sequel, as his loyalty to his friend clashes with his vengeful vendetta against Spider-Man. And the playfulness of the kid in the first film has been replaced by a darker edge. “He has a complicated role,” says Arad. “He now has to take responsibility for his life-no more excuses, he’s the man in charge.”

Dr. Curt Connors (Dylan Baker): One of Peter’s college professors will be none other than the man who eventually transforms into the evil Lizard in the comics. But will the reptilian baddie make his debut in this film, as some rumors are reporting? “I can’t say!” laughts Arad. “I don’t want to dispel rumors, because they’re fun. Connors is in the movie, and he and Peter are going to have an encounter as mentor and student-let’s leave it at that.”

Otto Octavius, aka Doc Ock (Alfred Molina): Everybody knows Doc Ock is the central villain, but no one really knows the exact nature of Peter’s relationship with Octavius. “He’s someone that Peter wants to get to know,” teases Arad. “Of course, as the story goes along, it all goes to crap after that! It’s definitely a dual relationship. And it’s not as simple as Octavius starting off good and becoming bad. Believe it or not, he starts off good, and he actually stays good.” So what exactly does that mean? “Trust me,” laughs Arad. “we did something less obvious than you’d expect!”